Medical Supply Solutions in Tanzania

Public-private partnerships are now a prominent feature in the global health landscape. While these partnerships offer great promise, some claim that the full potential of private sector partners to help address the world’s most pressing development challenges is largely unrealized. 

In 2009, The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) embarked on a journey to create a new type of partnership model. Instead of "simply writing a check," TCCC sought to transfer its core business expertise in supply chain management to its public sector partner, the Medical Stores Department (MSD) of Tanzania. Together with The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Accenture Development Partnerships (ADP), TCCC and MSD launched the Supply Chain Transformation Project in 2010. Later renamed to Project Last Mile, this established a novel partnership model that leveraged the global brand recognition of Coca-Cola and focused on the transfer of core business expertise to improve the distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies in Tanzania.